Returning to action after a six-game absence due to a right calf injury, Morant delivered 24 points and 13 assists in his return to the Grizzlies lineup Sunday – despite playing on a minutes restriction.

Iisalo said the medical update he received about the two-time All Star was positive a day after Morant practiced with the team.

“We’ve discussed this several times this season, when you miss a bunch of games, it’s not so easy to (go) right away into big minutes,” Iisalo said of his expectations for Morant.

Though trade speculation has begun to swirl around the 26-year-old point guard says there should be no doubt about his desire to keep playing for the Grizzlies.

After a dominant performance in a 126-109 victory over the Magic, the two-time All Star addressed recent trade speculation about him.

“I’ve got a logo on my back, so that should tell you exactly where I want to be,” Morant said, referring to a tattoo of the team logo.

“If anybody in here knows me — I’m a very loyal guy,” he said.

Morant’s return provided an instant boost for a team that needed it. The Grizzlies’ win was just their third in the past 10 games.

After sitting out the first game of a European doubleheader — the Magic won 118-111 in Berlin on Thursday — Morant was appreciative of the fan support he received in London.

“Just being able to play basketball — it’s very therapeutic for me,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of out there on the court and I was able to show that tonight.

“It was big-time, walking off and representing Memphis is what it’s all about.”

Memphis built a 33-point lead in the first half — and this time held on for the win. The Grizzlies blew a 20-point lead in the loss in Berlin.

“That’s just credit to coach putting us in the best spots possible and then just me being Ja and wind up making the right play whether it’s passing or scoring,” he said. “We got into a great rhythm early, got a big lead, after that it’s just managing.”

The two-time All-Star missed the first of the two-game NBA Europe series when the Magic beat the Grizzlies 118-111 in the NBA’s first regular-season game in Germany.

In Berlin, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disappointed that Morant couldn’t play because the guard “has a tremendous following globally.”

Morant is making about $39.4 million this season and is in the third year of a five-year, $197.2 million contract. He’s averaging 19 points and 7.6 assists per game this season — 22.4 points and 7.4 assists for his career.

He had missed Memphis’ last six games. Morant’s most recent appearance prior to Sunday was Dec. 2, when he played 31 minutes in a 128-121 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

<p>The post Ja Morant scores 24 points in return to lineup as Grizzlies beat Magic 126-109 in London first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

NEW YORK — We now know a little more about the Philadelphia 76ers.

After Saturday night’s 130-119 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, it would still be a bit aggressive to label them favorites in the Eastern Conference, particularly with the Detroit Pistons, Knicks and Boston Celtics all looming at the top of the standings. But it would be fair to say that this group, if it can stay healthy, has the talent, versatility and capability to win the East.

For three consecutive games, all on the road, these 76ers have enjoyed as much health as they have seen over two seasons. This means that Joel Embiid and Paul George have joined Tyrese Maxey and rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe in the starting lineup — and without restriction on minutes at that. The result has been a three-game winning streak, two of them in impressive fashion.

The result has been an offense that opposing teams have had trouble stopping. The result has also been a defense capable of getting enough stops when needed.

“For three games, we have had the same players in our starting lineup,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. “For three games, we have started the same five people. I don’t think I’ve been able to say that very much, since I’ve been here. You guys (the reporters) would have to go and check your notes on that. It’s been good to finally have some continuity.”

The statement at the beginning of this story is not said lightly and should not be taken lightly, particularly since it probably could not have been said at the beginning of training camp, or through the preseason, or even at the beginning of the regular season. Sure, the roster possessed some talent, but with the injuries to star players and with the cloud of last year hanging over the franchise, few could have predicted that the upside of the 76ers (19-14) would become evident by the beginning of the new year.

But just as a number of things went strikingly wrong for the Sixers last season, there have been multiple things to go strikingly right this go-around. Maxey is playing at a league-MVP level, so much so that he has to be included in those conversations at this point in the season. In Saturday night’s win over the Knicks, he scored 36 points while also grabbing eight rebounds and handing out four assists. On a basketball court full of star-level talent, he was the best player by a significant margin. His ability as a scorer has always been evident, but he’s made big strides in his ability to make plays for others, and he’s made big strides defensively.

In addition to Maxey, Embiid is beginning to look more like the player he once was. More importantly, Embiid is doing this while fitting in with the dynamic guard play on the roster. The fit with him and the rest of the roster looked clunky as he made his way back into the lineup. But on this road trip, that fit has been seamless.

Individually, Embiid’s playing as well as he has since before the knee injury that cost him the better part of two years. His play at this level, with Maxey playing at a superstar level, has made the Sixers difficult to handle. For so long, it’s been fair to ask whether Embiid would be able to get back to this level. His play, coinciding with Maxey’s ascent, has raised the ceiling of the 76ers as a whole.

“I’m just super happy to see Joel and Tyrese and PG on the floor and healthy,” Edgecombe said. “I’m super happy, man. It’s like the little kid in me, playing alongside the superstars that I watched growing up. Yeah, man, this is great.”

Edgecombe has helped change the ceiling for Philadelphia, possibly more than his teammates. He’s been one of the best rookies in the league and has become more than a role player. He’s shown the ability to carry lineups offensively. He’s shown the ability to create shots for himself.

This has done two things for the 76ers in the big picture. First, it’s given them a dynamic offensive talent to go along with Maxey. On Saturday, the Sixers forged their initial separation on the scoreboard with Edgecombe in the game and Maxey and Embiid both taking a rest. It was Edgecombe, and not Maxey, slicing through the Knicks’ defense.

The second thing Edgecombe has done for the Sixers is take responsibility off George. When the Sixers signed George, they anticipated him to be a star. At the beginning of the season, there was pressure on him to return to that level. He no longer has to. He can be a connector offensively and fill in the blanks when needed. On Saturday, he hit several big 3-pointers against the Knicks, but George’s biggest value to this group so far has been his wing defense, which has been excellent. And because Edgecombe has stepped up as a third scorer, there is a lot less pressure on George to be what he used to be offensively.

VJ Edgecombe (77) has been playing well for the Philadelphia 76ers during a standout rookie season.

One play that Edgecombe made late in the second half encapsulates just how rare he has been for his age. The 20-year-old caught the ball on the wing in transition with Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns guarding him. He could have tried to score in isolation; instead, he slowed the play down, allowed Embiid to set up on the block and gave him the ball. Embiid had the much smaller Mikal Bridges pinned on his back. He turned and easily scored.

Maxey, taking a breather at the time, turned to Trendon Watford and told him that’s a play you don’t see many rookies making.

“We’re running out of excuses for his play at this point,” Maxey said of Edgecombe. “He’s just good. We don’t have to make excuses on how good he is, because he’s a rookie. If you’re good on this night, and good on the next night, and good on the next night … guess what? You’re a good player.”

Saturday’s win was important because it gave the Sixers a 3-2 record to finish their longest road trip of the season. They were able to find a rhythm within their rotations and their lineups. By the end of the night, they looked like a team that knew how to play together and make the pieces fit. That’s something that’s been fleeting over the past two years.

The caveat to this is health. Everyone knows that Philadelphia by nature isn’t going to be the most durable team in the league. There will be more games missed at some point because of player injuries. But the 76ers are now five games over .500 for the first time this season. They are in the fifth spot of the Eastern Conference.

And most importantly, there has finally been a flash of what this team can be when healthy. Who knows how long that will last, but if the team is healthy when the playoffs come, Philadelphia can be a team that nobody wants to play.

“I think the biggest thing you can take away is that we’re getting a little bit more rhythm,” Nurse said. “We’re getting into a bit more shape. It’s given us some options. We hope that we can keep running out the same lineups. We just have to keep taking it a day and a game at a time.”

<p>The post he Athletic: Healthy 76ers lineup seeing positive results: 3 straight road games, 3 victories first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

In addition to the two games, the NBA and Sands will host interactive fan events including NBA House and NBA Fan Day, youth basketball clinics, and a Community Impact Week hosted by NBA Cares and Sands Cares featuring social impact programming focused on health, wellness and sustainability.

The NBA China Games 2026 will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories on television, digital media and social media.  The games and surrounding events will be supported by a roster of marketing partners, including Amazon Web Services, Gatorade, Nike, and Tissot.

Information about ticket sales and the fan, youth and community events will be announced at a later date. 

Executive Quotes:

NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum:

“The games in Macao earlier this season showed how much passion and enthusiasm there is for the NBA among fans in China and across Asia.  We look forward to welcoming the Mavericks and Rockets to Macao and to once again engaging fans, aspiring players and the local community through the games and surrounding events.”

Sands China Ltd. President and Chief Executive Officer Grant Chum:

“Riding on the outstanding success of The NBA China Games 2025 last October, I am excited about the programme we are planning for The NBA China Games 2026 showcasing the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets.  We are confident and ready to welcome the teams, players, legends and fans from around the world to Macao for another amazing NBA week filled with unforgettable experiences of sports, entertainment and community.”

Dallas Mavericks Governor and President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Patrick Dumont:

“It is a tremendous honor for Sands to host the games at The Venetian Arena next fall.  I could not be prouder of having the Mavericks come to Macao and have the team experience the incredible hospitality that Sands properties provide.  The success of The NBA China Games 2025 demonstrated the strength of the NBA in creating fan engagement and exciting experiences around the globe.  The NBA China Games 2026 will be another great opportunity to showcase the league, its world-class athletes and the excitement it brings.  I want to thank Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum for their leadership and the Houston Rockets organization for their strong support of The NBA China Games 2026.”

Houston Rockets Alternate Governor Patrick Fertitta:

“The Houston Rockets are an iconic brand with support around the globe, and we are honored to be selected alongside the Dallas Mavericks to bring a Texas-sized matchup to Macao as part of The NBA China Games 2026.  Since drafting Hall of Famer Yao Ming first overall in 2002, we have received overwhelming love from the passionate basketball fans of China and built several cherished memories playing overseas.  We are excited to have another opportunity to represent the NBA abroad and showcase our team in front of the fans in Macao next preseason.”

About Sands China Ltd.

Sands China Ltd. (Sands China or the Company) is incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability and is listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEx: 1928). Sands China is the largest operator of integrated resorts in Macao. The Company’s integrated resorts on the Cotai Strip comprise The Venetian^® Macao, The Plaza^® Macao, The Parisian^® Macao and The Londoner^® Macao. The Company also owns and operates Sands^® Macao on the Macao peninsula. The Company’s portfolio features a diversified mix of leisure and business attractions and transportation operations, including large meeting and convention facilities; a wide range of restaurants; shopping malls; world-class entertainment at The Venetian Arena, The Londoner Arena, The Venetian Theatre, The Parisian Theatre, the Londoner Theatre and the Sands Theatre; and a high-speed Cotai Water Jet ferry service between Hong Kong and Macao. The Company’s Cotai Strip portfolio has the goal of contributing to Macao’s transformation into a world centre of tourism and leisure. Sands China is a subsidiary of global resort developer Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS).

<p>The post Rockets, Mavs to play pair of preseason games in Macao in October first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

Giddey walked off the court gingerly after he was injured early in the second half during Monday night’s 136-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Chicago.

The injury is a tough blow for Giddey, who has career-best averages of 19.2 points, 9.0 assists and 8.9 rebounds this season.

The Bulls will also be without leading scorer Coby White for Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. White, who is averaging 20.5 points per game, is out after suffering a right calf strain Monday night.

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<p>The post Report: Bulls’ Giddey (hamstring) out at least a few weeks first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

And now, Denver’s Nikola Jokic is going to miss at least four weeks as well.

Nobody — not even those six All-NBA players from last season — is immune from the injury bug this season. The final day of 2025 is Wednesday and from an NBA health perspective, it might be time to say good riddance to these 12 months. Some of the league’s biggest names have dealt with significant injury issues in this calendar year, and in many cases those woes are carrying over into 2026.

“It sucks,” Denver coach David Adelman said after Jokic was hurt.

He’s not wrong.

Jokic got hurt Monday night in Miami, on a play with about three seconds left in the first half where he would have been better off just doing nothing. It seemed like he was trying to help a teammate defend a drive, got his foot stepped on in the process, hyperextended his left knee and left Nuggets fans — from Denver to Serbia and all points in between — waiting to hear the team announce the severity of the injury. It wasn’t as bad as some might have thought; Jokic should be back in a few weeks, which means tests confirmed there was no serious structural damage.

But in the NBA, when the games basically come every other day on average, even missing just one month could mean missing 15 or more games.

It feels like a ton of guys are hurt. The NBA says the actual numbers say otherwise.

“The data we have so far this season is we have the lowest number of injuries in the last three years,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said this month. “I’ll stop there and say, regardless where the level of injuries stands versus prior years, of course the soft tissue injuries concern us. All injuries concern us, for that matter. The most frustrating issue right now, and the one that we have seemingly the least control over, is keeping star players on the floor.

“I think we have made progress,” he added. “We’ve made adjustments in scheduling. We’ve made adjustments in the sharing of information among teams. We’ve made adjustments in the care of players.”

All that is true. This is also true: The NBA, even with all its power, can’t control luck. Sometimes, a guy gets stepped on and his knee doesn’t move the way it’s supposed to move.

“Next man up,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said.

That is the phrase heard in probably every locker room in the world when a player gets injured, but the reality is there’s no way the Nuggets can replace Jokic because three-time MVPs aren’t exactly easy to find.

Here are only some of the big names, the award-candidate-type names, the All-Star-level names who missed a lot of games in 2025, whether it was this season or last or both: Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Paul George, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, Miami’s Tyler Herro, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Bradley Beal, Denver’s Aaron Gordon, Atlanta’s Trae Young and New Orleans’ Zion Williamson. And remember, they only get added to the roster of injured that already includes Haliburton, Tatum, James, Williams, Antetokounmpo and now Jokic.

“It’s frustrating,” Silver said. “It’s frustrating for our teams. It’s frustrating for our fans. But I do think we have to be true to what the evidence is as opposed to saying there’s a narrative out there that injuries are up or injuries are up because of scheduling. They’re not. But we continue to slice and dice the data in every way we can, plus we look at qualitative information. People who have been around this game for a long time, what are they seeing? Are players training differently? Are there better techniques out there to keep players healthier?”

It’ll be a great day when the NBA and other leagues can get some answers. Maybe some clues will come in 2026.

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<p>The post Jokic the latest to fall as 2025 may go down as the year of the injured first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

That’s what happened on Christmas, when the Lakers were blown out and bullied by the Houston Rockets. Just as they were by the San Antonio Spurs in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, the slower Lakers were exposed on a marquee stage. And Redick has had enough of it.

“We don’t care enough right now,” Redick said. “And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional.” He went on to blast his team’s “effort and execution,” and he promised that the team would have an “uncomfortable” practice on Saturday, ahead of their game against the Sacramento Kings.

Maybe there’s a short-term burst coming, but the notion that effort is a choice in the modern NBA is pretty outdated. In today’s ultra-fast, ultra-deep league, it’s a skill, and it was one that quietly carried the Lakers through long stretches of the regular season last year. Remember the banshees, Redick’s term for his energetic role players? Well, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent have been nonfactors offensively, making them tough to play consistently. Dorian Finney-Smith, acquired last December, is gone now. He signed with Houston for the mid-level exception. Given his age and the injury he was dealing with, that might have been a defensible loss for the Lakers at the price Houston paid.

But why on Earth is Jordan Goodwin thriving on Phoenix’s bench instead of their own right now? Goodwin was an essential reserve last season. The Lakers waived him to make room under their first-apron hard cap for Marcus Smart. They could have attempted to use draft capital or cash to clear any of a number of less valuable players off of their roster to accommodate Goodwin, with Bronny James being the most notable. Instead, they let go of a younger, healthier player to add an older, injury-prone one. Smart has been effective when he’s played, but health has predictably been an issue.

There was never much of a question that the Lakers would prioritize someone like Smart over someone like Goodwin. Smart is a name brand, a Defensive Player of the Year with high-level playoff experience. The Lakers have a habit of prioritizing such players. Deandre Ayton was their most notable example of that this offseason. Rob Pelinka loves his former high draft picks. 

Since the disastrous Russell Westbrook trade cost the Lakers most of their depth, he’s been trying to replace it with down-on-their-luck lottery picks. In the five seasons since that deal, they’ve acquired 10 former first-round picks with five or fewer years of experience as buy-low swings: Malik Monk, Lonnie Walker, Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish and now, Ayton, Nick Smith and Jake LaRavia. Meanwhile, smart teams are consistently plucking high-energy former second-round picks and undrafted free agents off of the Lakers and watching them blossom into exactly the sort of players the Lakers need right now. Goodwin in Phoenix. Scotty Pippen Jr. in Memphis. Jay Huff in Indiana. And, most notably, Alex Caruso in Chicago and Oklahoma City.

Ayton is a good player. Hachimura is a good player. Neither of them have ever been high-effort players, and that’s frankly because the Lakers have never really valued high-effort players. The scouting department finds gems for them on the margin, but Pelinka would rather have skill and draft pedigree, which is valuable in context, but exactly what isn’t needed on a team led by Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and a 41-year-old LeBron James. And nearly a year after getting Dončić and changing the course of their franchise for the next 5-10 years, he still seemingly hasn’t adjusted to his franchise player’s needs. Or his coach’s for that matter.

Fans have had all sorts of complaints for Redick lately. They think Hachimura should come off the bench. They think Vincent shouldn’t play at all and that two-way guard Nick Smith has to play more. There are grains of truth in these complaints. It’s possible that the Lakers haven’t fully optimized their rotation yet. But at a certain point, you’re just shuffling deck chairs. Redick can potentially make lemonade out of these lemons, but he can’t make the champagne these fans expect every June. He just doesn’t have the ingredients.

We’ve been having versions of these same conversations for years now, and at a certain point, attention needs to turn to the person shopping for the groceries. The Lakers have a new owner in Mark Walter whose track record with the Dodgers suggests he has nearly limitless resources to spend in building a first-class organization. When he took over the Dodgers, he quickly replaced incumbent general manager Ned Colleti with Andrew Friedman and has won three World Series since.

Pelinka is now in Colleti’s position. His coach is stating outright that this team needs energy and effort. The league as a whole is shifting toward energy and effort. When the Lakers lose on big stages, it’s usually to teams that play with, you guessed it, energy and effort. The trade deadline is a bit more than a month away. If this team is going to have any hope of genuinely contending for a championship, it will have to add energy and effort. If they can’t do that, well, it would be hard to justify keeping the general manager who’s spent the past half-decade or so ignoring it almost completely.

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<p>The post JJ Redick torched Lakers’ players after Christmas loss, but the real blame lies with the GM who acquired them first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

A number of teams, including the Golden State Warriors, have reportedly considered runs at Davis, but the Atlanta Hawks, according to Marc Stein, “do appear to be the most determined suitor for Davis at this juncture.” There’s a pretty straightforward path to a trade available if Atlanta wants to pursue it. The Hawks can do a good chunk of the necessary salary-matching with the expiring contract of Kristaps Porziņģis. They have a recent No. 1 overall pick in Zaccharie Risacher who, according to Stein, they are open to dealing in the right package. 

Their draft debt to the San Antonio Spurs — accumulated in the Dejounte Murray trade — is far less daunting now than it looked in the moment. Aside from their seemingly untouchable first-round pick from the Pelicans this June, the Hawks should also have a mid-first round pick thanks to the swap rights they acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year’s De’Andre Hunter deal. They owe San Antonio their first-round pick next year, but have a better pick incoming thanks from their follow up Murray trade with New Orleans. The Hawks will receive the lesser of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ first-round picks in 2027, provided they don’t both land in the top four. After 2027, the Hawks control all of their own first-round picks. They are free and clear to trade draft capital if they want to, and based on Stein’s reporting, they are seemingly smitten enough with Davis to consider it.

But there’s another obstacle in play here: money. Davis is owed quite a bit of it, over $58 million for next season, before you even factor in a possible extension. Reporting has indicated that Trae Young would not be in a possible Davis deal, meaning his $49 million player option has to be considered in any possible 2026-27 salary planning. Together, that’s around $107 million. The Hawks owe another $85 million or so to core players Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Throw in that first-round pick from New Orleans, and the Hawks are already flirting with $200 million in payroll committed to seven players.

This is notable since the projected luxury tax level for next season is just a hair below $202 million. The Hawks haven’t paid the luxury tax since 2011 — before both this ownership group and the original, punitive tax changes that came in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement much less the harsher ones that followed in the 2023 edition. Unite those six players and a high first-round pick and the Hawks would be a tax lock and would likely have to veer into apron territory to build the depth necessary to contend for a championship. Maybe this ownership group would be willing to pay the tax for this group. We just don’t have immediate evidence that they would.

Stein’s reporting acknowledges that reality while hinting at a possible solution: trading Young before he can exercise that option this summer. “There is a growing belief leaguewide that the Hawks are more open to trading him away than they’ve ever been,” Stein wrote. Of course, this raises the issue we’ve been covering all season with players like Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball: there is seemingly less of an appetite around the league than there has ever been to trade considerable assets for defensively deficient guards who don’t consistently make their 3s.

Young has missed most of this season due to injury. He’s been disappointing when he’s played, posting some of the worst shooting numbers of his career while generating less value as a playmaker as the Hawks have handed more of his on-ball responsibility to his younger teammates. Atlanta wants Davis because of how well it played without Young. With him, the Hawks are 2-8 so far this season. The question here is, if the Hawks don’t want to pay Young, why would anyone else?

You’re looking for a very specific sort of team. The concept the Hawks would seemingly be moving toward by bringing in Davis and sending Young out would be to lean fully into size and defense. That’s become an increasingly popular model, while the heliocentric, pick-and-roll offenses of the past decade are starting to fall out of fashion. Such players can still have their place, but as floor-raisers more than ceiling-raisers. Young’s deficiencies as a defender and off-ball offensive player are so glaring that teams trying to win a championship probably don’t want him. But teams trying to win 40 or 45 games? Well, that’s his speciality. The Hawks are on a five-year run in which they’ve won no fewer than 36 games and no more than 43 (or, if you adjust the 2020-21 season to an 82-game pace, 47). So the goal here would be to find a team that, for one reason or another, wants to be in that range and has expiring salaries to send Atlanta in order to accommodate its new, Davis-centric payroll.

The Clippers make a lot of sense in this respect. They have the expiring contracts in John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanović and Brook Lopez. They also have a desperate need to maintain some veneer of respectability. They’re on track to hand the Thunder a high lottery pick this year, and they owe out their next three first-round picks to Oklahoma City and Philadelphia. This is a team that wants to be a recruiting power. Handing rivals future stars isn’t the way to do that. Young could be a bridge. Pair him with Ivica Zubac and a bunch of defense-first wings and the Clippers could be competitive for a few years while they wait out the draft picks they owe and plan for their real future.

The Kings can usually be relied upon to do something reckless, and consistent play-in berths would represent meaningful improvement for them. They’ve already been linked to Morant. Perhaps they’d view Young as a suitable De’Aaron Fox replacement a year after their ill-fated Zach LaVine trade. They don’t have expiring contracts, but there are ways of rectifying that. The easiest would involve them trading Domantas Sabonis elsewhere and ensuring that only expiring money comes back to them, which they could then flip for Young.

It’s not an exciting pool of suitors, but that’s where the point guard market is today. In truth, the proper basketball decision — at least in the short-term — would probably be to keep Young alongside Davis early on. They’re easy fits as a high-end pick-and-roll guard and one of the best lob threats in NBA history. Perhaps playing together raises Young’s stock enough to compel him to opt out this summer. Worst-case scenario, it’s only one more year on his contract. Nobody is asking the Hawks to pay the repeater penalty. Keep the team together for a year-and-a-half. Pay one big tax bill. Re-assess things from there.

Some teams are more comfortable wading into those financial waters than others. This Hawks ownership group has never paid the tax, but it’s never had a roster worthy of doing so either. Maybe a version of these Hawks with Young and Davis is good enough to justify it. Or maybe the entire concept of acquiring Davis is about reorienting the roster away from Young, leaning fully into all of that size and defense and athleticism they’ve accumulated even if it means sacrificing on offense. Stein’s reporting here seems to hint that that’s the idea. Why else would you be linked to one All-Star while simultaneously be open to moving another. This seems less like an all-in push than a deck shuffling. Davis is certainly gettable for the Hawks. The question here is whether they’ll be able to make the money work around him, either by ponying up for Young or by trading him to keep the rest of the roster intact.

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<p>The post The Hawks are reportedly serious about an Anthony Davis trade, but that raises questions about Trae Young first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

Bamba has averaged 16.5 points and 12 rebounds with the G League’s Salt Lake City Stars team and now brings much-needed size to the Raptors’ frontcourt in his eighth NBA season.

He played for the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans a season ago, averaging 4.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 12.9 minutes per contest in 32 games.

Bamba, 27, was the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NBA draft to the Orlando Magic. In 364 career games, he has averaged 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.

The Raptors improved to 19-14 on Sunday, outlasting the Golden State Warriors 141-127 in overtime. Scottie Barnes scored 23 points, matched a Raptors franchise record with a career-high 25 rebounds and added 10 assists for his seventh career triple-double.

The Raptors won despite playing without center Jakob Poeltl, who sat for the fifth time in six games with a lower back injury.

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<p>The post Report: Bamba, Raptors agree on one-year deal first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>

The future Hall of Fame point guard played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019-20 season, and it was that year Paul formed a tight bond with the team’s current point guard: 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The two players, separated by over 13 years in age, were inseparable. They would stay late after practice to challenge each other in shooting contests. On road trips, they would eschew nightlife for extensive film breakdowns of upcoming opponents, with the younger Gilgeous-Alexander trying to glean as much information as possible from the veteran Paul.

“I knew that year,” Paul told NBC News when he was asked when he first thought Gilgeous-Alexander had MVP potential, even though SGA was in only his second year in the league during their lone season together. “I just knew how into the game he was and how much he worked at it.”

Gilgeous-Alexander, the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft, hasn’t had a typical rise to MVP status. He wasn’t a very high draft pick. He was traded after his first season. And from 2021 through 2023, his Thunder teams failed to make the playoffs.

And yet, those who’ve been around him are hardly surprised by his individual success — which has led Oklahoma City to an NBA Finals showdown against the Indiana Pacers starting Thursday night.

“I knew he was going to end up somewhere, for sure,” says Lu Dort, Oklahoma City’s rugged perimeter stopper, who has been teammates with Gilgeous-Alexander since 2019. “Just the way he worked on himself and his game. Shai always had that mindset that nobody could stop him. Based on his work, I knew that he was going to get there.”

Guard Cason Wallace says: “He has a routine. Not everybody has a routine; not everybody works hard. But I’ve seen from day one, from the first week of the season, he has a routine, and he’s very consistent with it.”

Consistency has been a hallmark in Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise. He has averaged at least 30 points per game in each of the last three seasons, shot better than 50% from the field in four of the last five years and always played stellar defense on the other end of the floor.

If anything, it was the team’s overall success that needed to catch up with the player.

“He was averaging 30 when this team wasn’t as good, and then he was doing it while elevating the team at the same time,” Dort says. “When you go from bottom five in the league to No. 1 seed for two straight years, anybody who does that deserves to get MVP.”

Pacers center Tony Bradley, who played for the Thunder in 2021 and will now be lining up against them, says: “Honestly he’s the same player from when I was here; he’s just getting more recognition. Of course, he’s improved since I’ve been with him, but I’ve seen that potential when I was there.”

So what makes Gilgeous-Alexander special? It starts with his competitive nature.

Paul, who treats every contest, from a game of Connect Four to a regular-season matchup in January, like the championship, notices a similar trait.

“Man, we used to go at it in practice,” he says.

The two players would butt heads in everything, Paul says, from drills to one-on-one shooting games as the gym would start emptying out.

“Even the down years that they had, we talked about games every night. Talked about his team. Talked about hooping. I always appreciated that vibe.”

Says Dort: “Any time he has his shoes on and he’s on the court, he’s a pure competitor.”

Though it doesn’t happen as much during the season, in the summers and in training camp, Dort will often line up across from Gilgeous-Alexander in practice. He says neither player holds back the intensity despite being teammates.

“They are real battles,” Dort says. “I mean, I keep saying I’m the only one who can stop Shai. I got the recipe. I’m always going to try to get the best of him, and he’ll try to get the best of me at the same time.”

What makes Gilgeous-Alexander unique, however, is that his competitiveness doesn’t get in the way of his leadership qualities, on or off the court.

Dort, who also plays with SGA for the Canadian national team, is especially close with him. He says Gilgeous-Alexander has a completely different personality off the floor, engaging him in conversations on any topic from fatherhood to music. (“This dude listens to so much music it’s crazy. In the locker room he’s always the one singing. A lot of Drake.”)

The two also share a deep passion for one extracurricular in particular.

“It’s crazy the amount of time we’ve spent shopping together,” Dort admits. “I wasn’t that big on styling at first. When I got close to Shai and I saw how he was going about getting dressed — he was a lottery pick and I was on a two-way (contract) my first year, so we didn’t have the same income, but after that I got on my own wave and started getting into the styling stuff, as well.”

As low-stakes as it may sound, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander’s easy-going nature that helps his teammates be better versions of themselves.

“He makes coming into the building a lot easier on days you don’t want to be here,” Wallace says. “Because you know guys are going to come with it and have great energy.”

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told NBC News this season: “He’s inside the team. He treats everybody with respect. He’s light-hearted; he’s not cynical. There’s just so many qualities about him that make him magnetic. He’s not getting caught up in anything outside of his bubble in his life. And it’s very impressive.”

Paul, a hoops addict who is constantly watching film, notices the little ways Gilgeous-Alexander picks his co-stars up.

“My favorite part about his game is the trust that he has in his teammates,” Paul says. “If he passes the ball to Lu and he don’t shoot, he goes up to Lu in the dead ball or something and says, ‘Yo, if I pass it to you, shoot it!’ Just about every time, Shai makes the right play.”

Paul, who can speak from experience about trying to be both a team’s facilitator and its top scorer, says the groups that are most successful are the ones whose best players give their teammates confidence. “And that’s the way the Thunder play,” he says.

It can be tricky for Paul, who isn’t exactly known for his buddy-buddy nature on the court, to speak so highly of an opponent. He says it’s difficult to discuss Gilgeous-Alexander’s game without starting to scout him. And still, the fact their relationship has sustained despite their being teammates for only one season during radically different moments in their careers is a testament to the loyalty SGA can engender.

“I’m ultracompetitive, I want to beat these guys every time I play against them, but some relationships are different after the fact,” Paul says. “That year was a very pivotal year in my life. My first year away from my family. Shai will forever be one of my brothers.”

Their bond was evident when Paul surprised Gilgeous-Alexander by showing up courtside in Oklahoma City for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. That night SGA was finally awarded the MVP trophy.

Of course, a competitive nature and strong leadership go only so far in the NBA. Gilgeous-Alexander has been able to multiply those qualities by adding a relentless work ethic on top of immense talent.

His game is universally described as smooth, and he has a lethal combination of elite footwork and shooting that allows him to put pressure on defenses. With the threat of his stellar 3-point shot, Gilgeous-Alexander uses the lack of space opponents want to give him to continually attack the paint.

During the regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in drives per game and points per game off drives. Want to know why SGA gets to the free-throw line so much? It’s because he never settles.

“I wouldn’t compare him to anybody else in the league, because he’s his own player,” Thunder forward Jaylin Williams says. “His balance is crazy. I don’t know if y’all notice, but sometimes Shai will do a stepback and his knee will hit the ground … but he’ll stay up. His balance to me is one of the best things of his game. It helps him on the offensive and defensive end. It’s really unique.”

As one-of-one as Gilgeous-Alexander is, and with him and his team now taking the game’s most prominent stage, one of the questions emerging during the playoffs (especially among the sports debate types) is whether he can be the face of the NBA.

To Paul, at least, that misses the point.

“The league is so deep now with all these different guys with different personalities,” he says. “So instead of everybody trying to figure out who that is, just celebrate what’s in front of you.” 

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He went unsigned as a free agent during the offseason, and while he’s still working on an NBA comeback, the three-time All Star’s focus has been on professional fishing as of late. Simmons told Andscape that he’s been completing two-a-day basketball and strength and rehabilitation workouts six days a week, with hopes of making his return to the NBA. While there’s no firm timeline for his return, and with no team there’s certainly no expectations placed on him, the two-time All-Defensive player hopes to be healthy enough to join a team during the All-Star break, or perhaps next season. But he doesn’t want to just be on a roster for the sake of it.

“I don’t believe it’s just [about] getting on a team,” Simmons said. “So, if I were to play right now, I think I’d fit right into the NBA just given what I can do. But I want to give everything I can to the game. I don’t think there’s any point in just wasting a spot just to be out there. I think that’s a little selfish. And there are guys that do it now. But that’s what it is, the business.”

In conjunction with workouts that Simmons says are “exhausting,” he’s become an owner of a professional fishing team, the South Florida Sails. It’s part of the Sport Fishing Championship league, which consists of 16 teams across 11 states. They compete in tournaments catching various fish, with a championship on the line at the end of a season.

“It’s a very niche sport. And if you don’t know, you don’t know,” Simmons said. “But once you experience it and get out there and see what it’s about, you’re kind of in awe of what the sport is. And that’s just something I’ve always been interested in in terms of the sport of fishing. The technique. And there’s so much to it that people just don’t understand. These guys are fishing on million-dollar vessels, and they’re out for days at a time. So, it’s tedious and gritty, but a lot of fun. It’s one of those worlds where you just got to kind of experience it, get into it and see what it’s about.”

Simmons isn’t a member on the team, as he said he’s “not the best angler,” but he’s been incredibly committed to being involved from an ownership standpoint.

“I have a passion in helping these guys grow the sport because I really believe in it. So, for me to compete, it would be a little selfish. Maybe if I work hard enough to be a bit of an angler, maybe I’ll put myself on the roster. But it’s more so for me about building the community in Miami around the fishing. That’s really important, and it’s a responsibility that we have now.”

As far as his NBA return goes, Simmons said he hasn’t suffered any setbacks as he tries to rejoin the league. As encouraging as that is, Simmons hasn’t played 60 or more games since his second season in the league — which is pre-pandemic. He played 51 games last season split between the Nets and Clippers, but was still far away from the two-way floor general that earned him several accolades early in his career.

In reality, Simmons might not ever return to that version of himself who was locking down the league’s best offensive players on one end and dishing out some eyebrow-raising dimes on the other. But he still wants to try.

“We’re human, we want to find out,” Simmons said. “I got to see. I don’t think this story is over for me playing, but let’s see where it goes. So as long as I put in that work and put the energy into doing that, then everything else will write itself.”

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<p>The post The reel story: Ben Simmons is chasing another passion (professional fishing) while planning his NBA comeback first appeared on NBAFocus.</p>